U.S. patent application number 13/878927 was filed with the patent office on 2013-08-01 for water treatment in at least one membrane filtration unit for assisted recovery of hydrocarbons.
This patent application is currently assigned to TOTAL S.A.. The applicant listed for this patent is Samuel Heng, Pierre Pedenaud. Invention is credited to Samuel Heng, Pierre Pedenaud.
Application Number | 20130192836 13/878927 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44022941 |
Filed Date | 2013-08-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130192836 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Heng; Samuel ; et
al. |
August 1, 2013 |
WATER TREATMENT IN AT LEAST ONE MEMBRANE FILTRATION UNIT FOR
ASSISTED RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBONS
Abstract
A water treatment method includes: filtering water in a membrane
filtration unit including at least one membrane filtration module;
collecting a permeate and collecting a retentate at the outlet of
the membrane filtration module; withdrawing solid materials and/or
hydrocarbons contained in the retentate, in order to provide a
treated retentate; recycling the treated retentate at the inlet of
the membrane filtration module; providing a treated water flow from
the permeate from membrane filtration module(s). An installation
adapted for applying this method is also provided.
Inventors: |
Heng; Samuel; (Billere,
FR) ; Pedenaud; Pierre; (Lescar, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Heng; Samuel
Pedenaud; Pierre |
Billere
Lescar |
|
FR
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
TOTAL S.A.
Courbevoie
FR
|
Family ID: |
44022941 |
Appl. No.: |
13/878927 |
Filed: |
October 11, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
October 11, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB2011/054469 |
371 Date: |
April 11, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
166/305.1 ;
166/67; 210/170.11; 210/194; 210/195.2; 210/639; 210/650 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C02F 1/38 20130101; C02F
9/00 20130101; C02F 1/444 20130101; C02F 2201/008 20130101; E21B
43/00 20130101; C02F 1/40 20130101; C02F 2101/32 20130101; C02F
2103/365 20130101; C02F 1/44 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
166/305.1 ;
210/650; 210/639; 210/194; 210/195.2; 210/170.11; 166/67 |
International
Class: |
C02F 1/44 20060101
C02F001/44; E21B 43/00 20060101 E21B043/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 14, 2010 |
FR |
10/58370 |
Claims
1. A water treatment method, comprising: filtering water in a
membrane filtration unit comprising at least one membrane
filtration module; collecting a permeate and collecting a retentate
at an outlet of the membrane filtration module; withdrawing at
least one of: (a) solid material and (b) hydrocarbons, contained in
the retentate in order to provide a treated retentate; recycling
the treated retentate at the inlet of an membrane filtration
module; and providing a treated water flow from the permeate of the
membrane filtration module(s).
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising withdrawing
the water feeding the membrane filtration unit from at least one
of: (a) the environment and (b) production water from a production
flow extracted in an underground formation containing
hydrocarbons.
3. The method according to claim 2, comprising at least one of:
pre-treating the production water prior to the filtration of the
latter, the pre-treatment comprising at least one step selected
from gas/liquid separation, liquid/solid separation and
water/hydrocarbons separation; and pre-treating the withdrawn water
prior to the filtration of the latter, the pre-treatment comprising
one step selected from preliminary filtration, deoxygenation,
chlorination, desulfatation, biocidal treatment and injection of
anti-deposition or anti-corrosion compounds.
4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising purification
of the treated water flow in an additional membrane filtration
unit, and collecting a flow of treated and purified water from the
additional membrane filtration unit.
5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising locating the
membrane filtration unit sea on one of: a floating support or a sea
bed.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising injecting
the flow of treated and if necessary purified water into an
underground formation containing hydrocarbons, after adding one or
more additives.
7. A water treatment installation, comprising: (a) a membrane
filtration unit comprising: at least one membrane filtration
module; a water admission line connected at the inlet of the
membrane filtration module; a line for collecting permeate
connected at the outlet of the membrane filtration module; a
retentate collector connected at the outlet of the membrane
filtration module; a separator operably separating at least one of:
(a) liquids/solids or water/hydrocarbons, fed by the retentate
collector; a line for recycling the treated retentate, connected at
the outlet of the separator and feeding the water admission line;
and (b) a line for collecting treated water from the membrane
filtration unit.
8. The installation according to claim 7, wherein the separator
further comprises a hydrocyclone.
9. The installation according to claim 7, further comprising: means
for withdrawing water from the environment; a unit for extracting
hydrocarbons contained in an underground formation; a line for
admitting withdrawn water stemming from the water withdrawal means
and feeding the membrane filtration unit; and a production water
admission line fed by the hydrocarbon extraction unit and feeding
the membrane filtration unit.
10. The installation according to claim 9, comprising at least one
of: (a) a pre-treatment unit located on the production water
admission line, and at least one separation system selected from
gas/liquid separation systems, liquid/solid separation systems and
water/hydrocarbons separation systems; and (b) a pre-treatment unit
located on the withdrawn water admission line, and at least one
piece of equipment selected from a preliminary filtration system, a
deoxygenation system, a chlorination system, a desulfatation
system, a biocidal treatment system and a system for injecting
anti-deposition or anti-corrosion compounds.
11. The installation according to claim 7, wherein the membrane
filtration unit comprises a plurality of membrane filtration
trains, each membrane filtration train comprising a feeding pump
and at least one circuit which each comprise at least one membrane
filtration module, and a distribution system fed by the withdrawn
water admission line and the production water admission line and
feeding the membrane filtration trains.
12. The installation according to claim 7, wherein the membrane
filtration unit includes inorganic membrane filters or organic
membrane filters or hybrid membrane filters, and if the inorganic
membrane filters are used then they are in ceramic based on
Al.sub.2O.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, SiO.sub.2, MgO, SiC or a
mixture thereof.
13. The installation according to claim 7, comprising: an
additional membrane filtration unit fed by the treated water
collecting line; and a line for collecting treated and purified
water connected at the outlet of the additional membrane filtration
unit.
14. The installation according to claim 7, wherein the unit is
positioned on one of: (a) a floating support at sea or (b) the sea
bed.
15. A method for producing hydrocarbons comprising: filtering water
with at least one membrane filtration module including an inlet and
an outlet; collecting a permeate and collecting a retentate at the
outlet of the at least one membrane filtration module; withdrawing
at least one of: (a) solid material and (b) hydrocarbons, contained
in the retentate in order to provide a treated retentate; recycling
the treated retentate at the inlet of the at least one membrane
filtration module; and providing a treated water flow from the
permeate of the at least one membrane filtration module; and
recovery of a flow of the hydrocarbons from a production flow.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a National Phase Entry of International
Application No. PCT/IB2011/054469, filed on Oct. 11, 2011, which
claims priority to French Patent Application No. 1058370, filed on
Oct. 14, 2010, both of which are incorporated by reference
herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a method for treating water
within the scope of the production of hydrocarbons, and more
particularly of enhanced oil recovery, as well as to an
installation suitable for applying this method.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In the field of the production of hydrocarbons, after the
operations for recovering hydrocarbons by means of the natural
pressure of the underground formation containing the hydrocarbons,
a so-called "primary" recovery, it is generally proceeded with
so-called "secondary" recovery by injection of water. Within this
context, it is generally necessary to treat water before its
injection into the underground formation, in order get rid of the
major portion of contaminants which it may contain, notably solid
materials and drops of hydrocarbons. To do this, it is known how to
resort to membrane filtration of water. Membrane filtration may be
frontal or tangential. Tangential filtration has lesser risks of
clogging the filters and therefore has a significantly longer
lifetime (or requires less strict or less frequent
maintenance).
[0004] Within the scope of tangential filtration, the retentate
from the membrane filters is recycled towards said membrane
filters. Carrying out a preliminary treatment of the water to be
treated by means of a cyclonic separator, of a flotation unit or
other unit, is known before feeding the membrane filters, in order
to reduce the risks of clogging of the filters. However, membrane
filtration devices presently used still have risks of clogging the
membrane filters, which is particularly undesirable within the
context of offshore hydrocarbon production, or even in a undersea
medium, where it is desired to limit as much as possible operations
for maintenance or replacement of membrane filters. Therefore there
exists a need of developing a method for treating water within the
scope of enhanced oil recovery which allows a reduction in the
risks of clogging of membrane filters.
SUMMARY
[0005] The invention first relates to a method for treating water,
comprising: [0006] filtering water in a membrane filtration unit
comprising at least one membrane filtration module; [0007]
collecting a permeate and collecting a retentate at the outlet of
the membrane filtration module; [0008] withdrawing solid materials
and/or hydrocarbons contained in the retentate, in order to provide
a treated retentate; [0009] recycling the treated retentate at the
inlet of the membrane filtration module; [0010] providing a treated
water flow from the permeate of the membrane filtration module(s).
According to an embodiment, the water feeding the membrane
filtration unit is water withdrawn from the environment and/or
production water stemming from a production flow extracted in an
underground formation containing hydrocarbons.
[0011] According to an embodiment, the method comprises: [0012]
pretreating the production water prior to filtration of the latter,
said pretreatment preferably comprising one or more steps selected
from gas/liquid separation, liquid/solid separation and
water/hydrocarbons separation; and/or [0013] pretreating the
withdrawn water prior to the filtration of the latter, said
pretreatment preferably comprising one or more steps selected from
preliminary filtration, deoxygenation, chlorination, desulfatation,
biocidal treatment and an injection of anti-deposition or
anti-corrosion compounds.
[0014] According to an embodiment, the method further comprises the
purification of the water flow treated in an additional membrane
filtration unit, and collecting a treated and purified water flow
from the additional membrane filtration unit. According to an
embodiment, the method is applied offshore on a floating support or
at the sea bed. According to an embodiment, the treated, and if
necessary purified, water flow is injected into an underground
formation containing hydrocarbons, optionally after adding one or
more additives.
[0015] The invention also relates to an installation for water
treatment, comprising: [0016] A membrane filtration unit
comprising: [0017] at least one membrane filtration module; [0018]
a line for admission of water connected at the inlet of the
membrane filtration module; [0019] a line for collecting permeate
connected to the outlet of the membrane filtration module; [0020]
means for collecting retentate connected at the outlet of the
membrane filtration modules; [0021] liquid/solid separation means
and/or water/hydrocarbon separation means fed by the retentate
collecting means; [0022] a line for recycling treated retentate
connected at the outlet of the liquid/solid separation means and/or
water/hydrocarbons separation means and feeding the water admission
line; [0023] a line for collecting treated water, from the membrane
filtration unit. According to an embodiment, the liquid/solid
separation means and/or water/hydrocarbons separation means
comprise a hydrocyclone.
[0024] According to an embodiment, the installation comprises:
[0025] means for withdrawing water from the environment; [0026] a
unit for extracting hydrocarbons contained in an underground
formation; [0027] a line for admitting withdrawn water, from the
water withdrawal means and feeding the membrane filtration unit;
and [0028] a line for admitting production water fed by the
hydrocarbon extraction unit and feeding the membrane filtration
unit.
[0029] According to an embodiment, the installation comprises:
[0030] a pretreatment unit located on the production water
admission line and preferably comprising one or more separation
systems selected from gas/liquid separation, liquid/solid
separation and water/hydrocarbon separation systems; and/or [0031]
a pretreatment unit located on the line for admitting withdrawn
water, and preferably comprising one or more pieces of equipment
selected from a preliminary filtration system, a deoxygenation
system, a chlorination system, a desulfatation system, a biocidal
treatment system and a system for injecting anti-deposition or
anti-corrosion compounds.
[0032] According to an embodiment, the membrane filtration unit
comprises a plurality of membrane filtration trains, each membrane
filtration train comprising a feeding pump and one or more circuits
which each comprise one or more membrane filtration modules; and
preferably a distribution system fed by the line for admitting
withdrawn water and the line for admitting production water and
feeding the membrane filtration trains. According to an embodiment,
the membrane filtration unit includes inorganic membrane filters,
or organic membrane filters or hybrid membrane filters, preferably
inorganic membrane filters are in ceramic based on Al.sub.2O.sub.2,
TiO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, SiO.sub.2, MgO, SiC or a mixture thereof and
more preferably ceramic membrane filters based on SiC.
[0033] According to an embodiment, the installation comprises:
[0034] an additional membrane filtration unit, fed by the line for
collecting treated water; [0035] a line for collecting treated and
purified water, connected at the outlet of the additional membrane
filtration unit. According to an embodiment, the installation is
positioned on a support either floating on the sea or on the sea
bed.
[0036] The invention also relates to a method for producing
hydrocarbons comprising: [0037] water treatment according to the
method described above; [0038] recovery of a hydrocarbon flow from
the production flow.
[0039] With the present invention it is possible to overcome the
drawbacks of the state of the art, more particularly it provides a
method for treating water (and a corresponding installation) with
which risks of clogging the membrane filters may be reduced. This
is obtained by a treatment of the retentate before its recycling,
according to which the retentate is at least cleared of a portion
of the solid materials and/or the hydrocarbon drops which it
contains. The separation of the solid materials and/or the
hydrocarbon drops in the retentate is all the more efficient since
the conditions are favorable for separation by separation means of
the hydrocyclone type: indeed, the flow rate of the retentate is
high and the concentration of solid materials and/or hydrocarbon
drops in the retentate is also relatively high (in any case higher
than in the flow feeding the membrane filtration unit).
[0040] Conversely, the filtration gains in efficiency since the
concentration of contaminants in the flow feeding the filter is
reduced. Therefore, there exists particularly efficient coupling
and even synergy between the filtration membranes and the
separation membranes which are associated with them.
[0041] According to certain particular embodiments, the invention
also has one or preferably more of the advantageous features listed
below. [0042] The invention allows multipurpose treatment. By using
a same piece of equipment, it is possible to either only treat
water withdrawn from the environment (notably at the initial stage
of the exploitation of the underground formation) or only treat
production water (if the latter is collected in a sufficient amount
after the initial stage for exploitation of the underground
formation), or further simultaneously treat production water and
water withdrawn from the environment (providing a contribution for
injection). Therefore, the method of the invention is both
efficient and simpler to be implemented than the methods used in
the state of the art. In particular, the invention may be applied
with a reduced number of pieces of equipment and with a better rate
of use of the equipment. [0043] With the invention, it is possible
if necessary to add value to the hydrocarbons recovered from the
retentate. [0044] With the invention, if this is desired, it is
possible to obtain very good quality of the injection water, not
only allowing injection in a fractured mode, but also possibly in a
matrix mode. [0045] With the invention, it is possible to obtain a
constant quality of water regardless of the changes in the feed,
and notably changes in flow rate at the input. Also, the separation
operated on the retentate is facilitated by the stability of the
pressure and of the flow rate at the inlet. Energy savings are
achieved on said separation since the pressure and the flow rate
anyhow imposed by the membrane filtration are used. [0046] Membrane
filtration is simple to control. No gas is generated which is
compatible with undersea use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0047] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the
installation according to the invention.
[0048] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the
membrane filtration unit used in the invention.
[0049] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a circuit
present in the membrane filtration unit used in the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0050] The invention is now described in more detail and in a
non-limiting way in the following description.
Tangential Filtration Circuit According to the Invention
[0051] The coupling of the membrane filtration to purification of
the retentate before recycling the latter, is first described with
reference to FIG. 3, where a tangential membrane filtration circuit
is illustrated within the membrane filtration unit which is used
within the scope of the invention. The circuit comprises a water
admission line 29, on which is positioned a circulation pump 21.
The water admission line 29 opens out into one or more membrane
filtration modules 22, 23 positioned in series and/or in parallel,
and preferably in parallel. In the illustrated embodiment, two
membrane filtration modules 22, 23 positioned in parallel are
provided. By "membrane filtration module" is meant an individual
membrane filtration element, comprising a membrane filter.
[0052] A line for collecting permeate 25 is connected at the outlet
of the membrane filtration modules 22, 23. Also means for
collecting retentate 24 are connected at the outlet of the membrane
filtration modules 22, 23. In the illustrated case, this is a
retentate collecting line.
[0053] The retentate collecting means 24 feed separation means 26
which may be liquid/solid separation means; or water/hydrocarbon
separation means; or further liquid/solid separation means
associated with water/hydrocarbons separation means. The separation
means 26 may comprise gravity separation means of the decanter type
or a separation means by flotation. But preferably these are
desanding and/or deoiling hydrocyclone(s) since these devices are
relatively compact. It is further possible to use a rotary
hydrocyclone, such as the one described in application no. FR
09/59254 as of Dec. 18, 2009.
[0054] At least one line for collecting contaminants 27 is
connected at the outlet of the separation means 26; it allows
recovery of the withdrawn materials from the retentate
(hydrocarbons and/or solid materials). A line for recycling the
treated retentate 28 is also connected at the output of the
separation means 26; it allows recovery of the majority of the
retentate, cleared of part of its contaminants (hydrocarbons and/or
solid materials). The line for recycling the treated retentate 28
feeds the water admission line 29. A water feeding line 20 also
opens out into the water admission line 29.
[0055] As described above, such a tangential filtration circuit
allows limitation in the amount of contaminants (hydrocarbons
and/or solid materials) on the membrane filters, and therefore
reduction in the risks of clogging and increase in the lifetime of
the membrane filters. The power of the circulation pump 21 is
adapted to so as to take into account the presence of the
separation means 26.
[0056] According to another embodiment (not illustrated), provision
may be made for a separator (notably a hydrocyclone) directly
coupled at the outlet of each membrane filtration module 22, 23. In
this case, the retentate collecting means 24 are simply connection
means between the membrane filtration nozzles 22, 23 and the
respective separators, this ensures optimum compact integration of
the different pieces of equipment.
Use of the Tangential Filtration Circuit According to the
Invention
[0057] The installation according to the invention may for example
comprise a single membrane filtration unit; [0058] which is fed
with a flow of water withdrawn from the environment: or [0059]
which is fed by a flow of production water; or [0060] which, with
reference to FIG. 1, is a membrane filtration unit 9 fed or capable
of being fed with two distinct flows of water, i.e. water withdrawn
from the environment and production water, and this by means of a
line for admitting withdrawn water 2 and a line for admitting
production water 7; correlatively, the water admission line 20
described above in connection with FIG. 3 is fed by a line for
admitting withdrawn water 2 and/or a line for admitting production
water 7.
[0061] It is this third possibility, in accordance with FIG. 1,
which is most particularly described in the following, it being
understood that the invention may be applied mutatis mutandis with
a single supply of water withdrawn from the environment and with a
single supply of production water. Production water designates
water which stems from a production flow, i.e. a flow from an
underground formation containing hydrocarbons. More specifically, a
hydrocarbon extraction unit 30, comprising one or more extraction
wells located in the underground formation, provides a production
flow in a production flow admission line 4.
[0062] The production flow is a mixture of hydrocarbons, water and
possibly solid particles and/or gas. This production flow is
separated into several fractions in a separation unit 5 fed by the
production flow admission line 4. In particular, at least one
hydrocarbon fraction is recovered in a hydrocarbon collecting line
6, and an aqueous fraction (production water) is drawn off in the
production water admission line 7.
[0063] The production water may undergo a preliminary treatment
before filtration in the membrane filtration unit 9, if this is
necessary, taking into account the nature and the quality of the
production water, and taking into account the desired
specifications for the treated water. In this case, provision is
made for a pre-treatment unit 8 on the production water admission
line 7. This pre-treatment unit 8 may for example comprise one or
more separation systems selected from gas/liquid separation,
liquid/solid separation and water/hydrocarbons separation systems,
which may notably comprise one or more hydrocyclones, or one or
more gravity separation apparatuses.
[0064] The pre-treatment unit 8, when it is present, continues and
refines the separation between water, hydrocarbons, solids and
gases from the production flow which has been started in the
separation unit 5. According to an embodiment, no pre-treatment of
the production water is provided, on the contrary, the treatment of
the production water being directly carried out in the membrane
filtration unit 9 for more simplicity.
[0065] The water withdrawn from the environment is obtained by
withdrawal means 1. The term of "environment" designates not only
the natural environment (water may for example be withdrawn from
water streams or surface water expanses notably rivers, lakes and
the sea, or further may be withdrawn from an underground
water-bearing formation), but also non-natural sources of water,
such as industrial or domestic effluents (waste water, sewage water
and other waters). Generally the withdrawn water may stem from any
source of water except for the underground formation containing the
hydrocarbons. In other words it is distinct from the production
water. According to an embodiment, the invention is applied at sea,
and water is withdrawn from the sea.
[0066] The withdrawal means 1 may comprise extraction and pumping
means. The withdrawn water may undergo a preliminary treatment
before filtration in the membrane filtration unit 9, if this is
necessary, taking into account the nature and the quality of the
withdrawn water, and taking into account the desired specifications
for the treated water. In this case, a pre-treatment unit 3 is
provided on the withdrawn water admission line 2. This
pre-treatment unit 3 may for example comprise a preliminary
filtration system; and/or a deoxygenation system; and/or a
chlorination system; and/or a desulfatation system; and/or a
biocidal treatment system; and/or a system for injecting
anti-deposition/anti-corrosion compounds.
[0067] Thus, the withdrawn water is pre-treated, and notably
depending on the cases, filtered beforehand; and/or deoxygenated;
and/or chlorinated; and/or desulfated; and/or treated with a
biocidal agent; and/or is added with anti-deposition/anti-corrosion
compounds. The relevant preliminary filtration is coarse filtration
by means of one or more filters having a pore size greater than 5
.mu.m and generally greater than 10 .mu.m, greater than 100 .mu.m
or even greater than 1 mm.
[0068] According to an embodiment, no pre-treatment of the
production water is provided, on the contrary, the treatment of the
production water being directly carried out in the membrane
filtration unit 9 for more simplicity. The production water and/or
the withdrawn water are treated in the membrane filtration unit 9.
The treated water is recovered in at least one line for collecting
treated water 31, connected at the outlet of the membrane
filtration unit 9. In other words, the treated water collecting
line 31 is fed by lines for collecting permeate 25 such as those
described above in connection with FIG. 3, at the outlet of various
circuits comprising membrane filtration modules 22, 23. The treated
water recovered in the treated water collecting line 31 is
preferably used in order to be injected into the underground
formation, in one or more injection wells. It is possible to add
additive(s) to the treated water (for example surfactants or
polymers intended to increase the viscosity of the water), in order
to increase the efficiency of the sweeping of the underground
formation with the injected water.
[0069] According to an embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 2 the
membrane filtration unit 9 comprises at least one, and generally
several membrane filtration trains 18, 19. Each membrane filtration
train 18, 19 is fed with a respective train feeding line 10, 11,
provided with a respective feed pumping system 12, 13. Each
membrane filtration train 18, 19 comprises at least one, and
generally several circuits 14, 15, 16, 17 which are as described
above in connection with FIG. 3. In the illustrated example, a
first membrane filtration train 18 comprises two circuits 14, 15
which are both fed with a same train feeding line 10. Also, a
second membrane filtration train 19 comprises two circuits 16, 17
which are both fed with a same train feeding line 11. Individual
lines for collecting treated water 14', 15', 16', 17' are connected
at the outlet of the respective circuits 14, 15, 16, 17 and
correspond to lines for collecting permeate 25 as described
above.
[0070] The membrane filtration unit 9 therefore has a modular
structure and may operate in a multipurpose way both at the input
and at the output. As regards the inlet, the membrane filtration
unit 9 advantageously comprises a distribution system 34 to which
are connected: at the input, the withdrawn water admission line 2,
and the production water admission line 7; and at the output, the
train feeding lines 10, 11. The distribution system 34 is adapted
so as to separately feed each train feeding line 10, 11 either with
withdrawn water, or with production water, or with a mixture of
withdrawn water and of production water as selected by the
operator. As regards the output, the membrane filtration unit 9
advantageously comprises a distribution system 35 to which are
connected: at the inlet, individual lines for collecting treated
water 14', 15', 16', 17'; and at the output line(s) for collecting
treated water 31.
[0071] At the beginning of the exploitation of the underground
formation, there is no available production water, and withdrawn
water is only treated in the membrane filtration unit 9.
Subsequently, when production water is available, it is
advantageous to use this production water for injection. In this
case, the production water is only treated in the membrane
filtration unit 9 (withdrawing water from the environment is then
stopped); or else production water and withdrawn water (ensuring a
contribution) are both treated in the membrane filtration unit 9,
and this either in separate membrane filtration modules or in the
same membrane filtration modules (the production water and the
withdrawn water may be mixed together). Therefore, in the method of
the invention, the filtration of the withdrawn water and the
filtration of the production water in the membrane separation unit
9 may be carried out successively or simultaneously according to
the exploitation periods.
[0072] In the case of excess production water according to the
needs as regards injection (and notably in the case of a reduction
or interruption or stopping of the injection) it is possible to
discard all or part of the treated water into the environment
instead of injecting it into the underground formation. The
membrane filters present in the membrane filtration unit 9 may be
organic membrane filters (in polymer) or inorganic membrane filters
(in ceramic) or hybrid membrane filters, partly in ceramic and
partly in polymer). The selection of the membrane filters is
preferably carried out so that the latter may treat both the
withdrawn water and production water, despite the different
characteristics of these flows.
[0073] Preferably, the membrane filters have to tolerate the
presence of hydrocarbon compounds and notably aromatic compounds
such as toluene and benzene, which may be present in the production
water. Preferably, the membrane filters have to be able to
withstand a temperature greater than or equal to 40.degree. C.,
notably greater than or equal to 50.degree. C., notably greater
than or equal to 60.degree. C., notably greater than or equal to
70.degree. C., notably greater than or equal to 80.degree. C., or
even greater than or equal to 90.degree. C., since the production
of water may attain or exceed such temperature thresholds.
[0074] For the whole of these reasons, it is preferable to use
ceramic membrane filters (which may notably withstand a hydrocarbon
content ranging up to one or even 3% as well as a high
temperature), and notably membrane filters based on
Al.sub.2O.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, SiO.sub.2, MgO, SiC or a
mixture thereof. The SiC-based membrane filters are particularly
preferred because of their great hydrophilicity; they are easy to
clean, withstand abrasion and may withstand high water flow rates.
Certain organic membrane filters, notably those based on a material
known as Teflon.RTM., may also be suitable depending on the
applications.
[0075] According to an embodiment, all the filtration trains, 18,
19 of the membrane filtration unit 9 are identical; and/or all the
circuits 14, 15, 16, 17 of the filtration trains 18, 19 are
identical; and/or all the membrane filtration modules 22, 23 and
all the membrane filters are identical (except possibly in the case
of filtration modules positioned in series). The membrane
filtration unit 9 is preferably a microfiltration or
ultrafiltration unit, i.e. the membrane filters which it contains,
have a pore size from 0.01 to 10 .mu.m, and preferably from 0.01 to
1 .mu.m. Thus, the membrane filtration unit 9 is adapted for
suppressing the hydrocarbon drops as well as solid materials in
suspension in the water.
[0076] As an example, the water at the inlet of the membrane
filtration unit 9 may contain up to 1,000 ppm of hydrocarbons and
up to 200 mg/L of solid materials in suspension. The water treated
at the outlet of the membrane filtration unit 9 may contain less
than 10 ppm (preferably less than 5 ppm or even less than 1 ppm) of
hydrocarbons and less than 10 mg/L (preferably less than 1 mg/L) of
suspended solid materials: it is thus adapted to injection
(including in a matrix mode) or to being discarded into the
environment.
[0077] If it is desired to obtain an even higher water purity, and
notably remove the dissolved salts, provision is made for an
additional membrane filtration unit 32 fed by the line for
collecting treated water 31. This additional membrane filtration 32
is preferably a reverse osmosis or nanofiltration unit (comprising
membrane filters having a pore size of less than 0.01 .mu.m).
Treated and purified water is then recovered in a line for
collecting treated and purified water 33 connected at the outlet of
the additional membrane filtration unit 32.
[0078] Complementary treatment means may also be provided depending
on the needs, for example a unit for deoxygenation of water between
the membrane filtration unit 9 and the additional membrane
filtration unit 32 (in this case, it is unnecessary to provide
deoxygenation upstream from the membrane filtration unit 9). It may
be advantageous to heat the water at the inlet of the membrane
filtration unit 9, in order to reduce its viscosity and to reduce
the risks of clogging of the membrane filters with the
hydrocarbons. To do this, provision is made for a heat exchanger on
the withdrawn water admission line 2 and/or on the production water
admission line 7 and/or on the train feeding lines 10, 11. The heat
exchanger may for example be coupled with the conduit(s) for
collecting treated water 31 or else with the individual lines for
collecting treated water 14', 15', 16', 17', in order to recover
the calories of the treated water (which may typically be at a
temperature from 30 to 80.degree. C.).
[0079] The invention may be applied on land or at sea. The offshore
application may be on a floating support or a platform, or further
on the sea bed, while using suitable equipment (marinization of the
equipment).
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